No one is born a novel writer. But do you believe that we all have the capability to be writers? Impossible as it may seem but the answer is yes! If we have the passion for it and if we strive to make it happen, novelwriting can be as easy as writing ABC. Writing is actually not a very complicated thing. It is just like drawing, painting, and even cooking. It is an art! Your imagination is all that it takes to get it started. What makes it hard is not writing itself but how people make it harder than it really is.
The first key to writing a novel is the ability to dream and imagine. Think back to when you were a little child and dreamed. Your imagination took you to places you've never been before. It made you do things you never thought you could do. Having superpowers... being in strange places... the conditions are limitless. Writing a novel is actually imagination translated into words. You close your eyes and let your thoughts drift while creating a web of consequential ideas. After which, you write them down on paper.
The second key to writing is formulating the premise of your novel. Let's say you'd start with a huge asteroid moving about in space. Then suddenly it collided with another asteroid and instantly created an explosion. Some of the explosion's debris fell down into the earth's atmosphere. By accident a person comes in contact with it. These sequence of events could be your initial start in which you let your mind take hold of and run with to produce the succeeding events.
The third key would be creating a stream of spontaneous ideas. Once you have the initial idea, sink down into it and allow yourself to be completely absorbed. Let's say after the person comes in contact with the asteroid debris, he gains supernatural powers! And then he notices some new changes in his being, not just physically but also emotionally and psychologically. This is where an avalanche of new ideas start coming in. You will notice that you are no longer directing your story but your story is directing you. That makes writing now so easy. You don't need to analyze anything because the story now starts to play like a movie. All you have to do is put them into words as the story plays in your head.
Next, make sure you are able to retain your daydreaming and concentration as one event goes after another. This state is now called the "alpha state". According to Judith Tramayne-Barth, this is the place between consciousness and sleep. Time stands still when you are in this state. Words keep coming to you until you start to feel pain in your legs and in your waist and then you suddenly flick consciousness and you become flabbergasted because you've not only written one or two pages but five or more without even knowing it!
The next key would be to practice flipping in and out of the "alpha state". You can do this by rereading what you've written and internalizing it as if it was your first time. It might take you time, as much as hours or even days before you are able to go to your "alpha state" again but once you're adept at going into the zone, it would only be a matter of minutes before you start writing a new dialogue.
So, you've finished your story! Now it's time to do the final touch-ups. There is still one last thing that you need to do. Yea, you guessed it. You need to check the entire story again for spelling, punctuations, grammar, correct word usage and coherence. You might even need to revise it a few times before you are able to arrive with the final output. But don't fret, it's not much work really compared to writing the entire novel. What's important is you now have your own novel, written by yourself, using your very own imagination. How much more proud could you get?
Rachelle Arlin Credo (c) 2005
Rachelle Arlin Credo is an entrepreneur and relationship coach. She also works as an image consultant and part-time writer. Formerly a contributing scribe to The Freeman and Sunstar Daily - Philippines, she writes short stories, poems, essays, and tons of articles for Writers.net, Netterweb.com, Ideamarketers.com, Searchwarp.com, and Goarticles.com. For more info, mailto: raeshylle@yahoo.com.
family-safe home cleaners Northbrook ..If you either want to write a book to help... Read More
The tiniest things can be so useful when you come... Read More
The principle for writing good screenplays begins with good idea... Read More
On my first newspaper assignment as a critic, I was... Read More
Hundreds of writing contests tempt screenwriters with the lure of... Read More
Beginner's Blues: How to Collect Samples, Testimonials, and References as... Read More
I am sure that at in some era, at some... Read More
A few magazines refer to their written idea sources in... Read More
If your writing muscle isn't in shape, writing a novel... Read More
I recently read a book where everything was akimbo. Arms... Read More
In the ten years that I've taught people how to... Read More
You have a new website, or a new business, or... Read More
These 8 tips on using characters in your stories will... Read More
'Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always... Read More
This article contains a short guide on how to edit... Read More
Someone once commented that there were no new ideas to... Read More
Back in the mid to late 1980s I was a... Read More
Op-ed articles, also known as opinion/editorial articles, are a great... Read More
Whether you are working for a small business, large corporation,... Read More
Today I took the dog for a walk and realized... Read More
My husband is no poet, so when I offer my... Read More
Poems. Just the mention of them makes me smile. Why?... Read More
These are some of the snapshots I carry with me:... Read More
Fiction manuscripts receive feedback that addresses and scores:? The theme... Read More
1. Turning your idea into a bookWith non-fiction books the... Read More
residential cleaning services Deerfield ..If Ben Franklin were alive today, he would be...uh, very... Read More
My Dad has this old joke that goes, "What's the... Read More
Having problems writing? I don't know why. San Francisco Chronicle... Read More
Writing technical articles is a challenge. There you sit, surrounded... Read More
The tiniest things can be so useful when you come... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?The writer, who doesn't have the time... Read More
Writer's block! Even columnist Dave Berry has it. He admits... Read More
Readers often send me interesting and exciting e-mails about the... Read More
In the beginning of your story you have to grab... Read More
It never ceases to amaze me when a prospective writer... Read More
Okay. So I'm not David Letterman. But I doubt if... Read More
Rudolf Flesch, a specialist in writing skills, ran classes... Read More
Ever wondered how the most successful children's book writers get... Read More
Writers are often are greatly surprised or disappointed by how... Read More
Peter Mayle was born in England in 1939.His fascination with... Read More
Les Edgerton writes in his book, Finding Your Voice, that... Read More
Persisting With Bulldog Determination [Book excerpt from Successercising} by Rick... Read More
Effective screenwriting relies on the good understanding and use of... Read More
I'm a writing fool! 2 book proposals, 1 user's guide,... Read More
About two weeks ago I received an article submissionthat immediately... Read More
Why would anyone want to write for trade journals? Aren't... Read More
A good white paper is a paper that makes you... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?When an idea comes to us for... Read More
Reading through a writer's notebook or journal is like discovering... Read More
Part 1 of this article discussed the experience you need... Read More
Writing |